In preparation for an upcoming meeting where we plan to gather some of our network members, including youth with brain-based developmental disabilities, we recently set out to book a venue. Knowing that we wanted our venue to be accessible, comfortable and work-conducive for all guests, including our younger members, we invited Avi Karp, a 19-year-old student and entrepreneur with personal knowledge about accessibility, to help us evaluate our leading venue.

Corina d’Alesio-Worth (left) & Avi Karp (right)

"I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) since I was 12 years old and my MS has affected my mobility at times in the past,” says Avi. “When CHILD-BRIGHT asked me to help them select a good venue for others with similar issues, I was excited and honoured. I felt my personal experience would be an asset."

“Avi provided very insightful feedback and observations as we were touring the venue,” says Corina d’Alesio-Worth, from the CHILD-BRIGHT Administrative team. “Some of the tips he shared were:

To visualize the space from different perspectives, like imagining we were navigating the room in a wheelchair. Would the space between the tables be too narrow?

To test EVERYTHING: a broken automatic door button could be a big problem for someone using a wheelchair.

To pay attention to the user experience. For example, one ‘accessible’ path was very narrow and led us past dumpsters. How would that impact the user experience?

Not to overlook smaller details like access to a casual meeting space, to good food, to a strong Wi-Fi signal and to the ports needed to connect a PlayStation. These smaller but great extra touches would help our younger guests be more productive and feel more satisfied with their overall experience at our event.”

“This was my first time being called to help a network in this way, and I think it was a great idea,” says Avi. “It makes much more sense to have someone with a brain-based disability evaluate the venue for an event for others with brain-based disabilities.”

We want to sincerely thank Avi for his time and insight. We have already been in touch with our venue manager to ensure key technical fixes are completed before our meeting, and we are rethinking the path by which our guests will enter the venue to ensure that the user experience is welcoming for all equally. Partnering with Avi was very helpful in guiding our preparations, and we hope that by sharing some of his expert tips, you can also benefit from them (and share them with venue managers too!).